Hale Sanctuary
by Socrates7727
Summary: The Hale Animal Sanctuary is, and always has been, Stiles' dream job. But between all the chaos and the animals, how is he supposed to make time for the terrifying boss? Except maybe Derek Hale isn't as bad as he seems... Work!AU Sterek fluff, one-shot for now.


AN I don't own Teen Wolf or any of its characters! This is a random AU fic I found going through old docs but I'll update if you guys like it.

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The Hale animal sanctuary was Stiles' dream. It was home to thousands of animals and had the biggest rescue and adoption program in the entire western United States. He got hired as a summer intern via a very intensive and difficult hiring process for an unpaid position but he loved it. He got assigned to the rabbit division even though his dream was to work in the rehab center but he loved it regardless. Just being around animals was enough. He treated minor illnesses and injuries and played with them and helped with adoptions. As an intern, he got all the shitty jobs like shoveling manure and washing the dogs who rolled in poop but he never complained more than a sarcastic comment or two and he was always eager for more.

One of the dogs he had to wash, constantly covered in diarrhea, was named Kit. She seemed happy and healthy and all her vet checks came back with nothing abnormal but she still consistently left her kennel a disaster and covered herself in it daily. The other workers dismissed her as just anxious or what not but Stiles spent more time with her on his lunch break. He asked for permission to switch her food and his manager wanted to know why. And, when Stiles said he just wanted to try something, he got sent up the food chain to Mr. Hale's right hand man: Isaac. Isaac had to approve any treatment or changed to the animals diets before they could happen. When Stiles walked into the Hale house-more like a mansion actually-and was ushered up the second floor into a large office, he expected a grumpy old man complaining about costs… Not a twenty year old in jeans and a 90s rock sweatshirt.

"Hey what can I do for you?"

"Uh hi I'm here about Kit? She's the dog who-"

"I know who she is," Isaac laughed with a friendly smile. "How and why do you want to change her food?"

"I think she's allergic to it, Mr. Lahey." He felt weird calling someone his own age Mr. but he didn't really have a choice.

"Please call me Isaac. What makes you think she's allergic? The vets have tested everything in the food already and she hasn't reacted to any of the ingredients."

"Yes, I know. I think she's allergic to the plastic lining of the bag. It's not much but it's enough to throw off her stomach. I want to switch her to homemade food that hasn't been processed with plastic for a while and see if she improves." Isaac nodded, considering him. He picked up a phone on the desk.

"Hey Lyd would you ask Derek to come down here? Tell him it's about Kit." He hung up and a minute later the door opened. In walked possibly the most beautiful human Stiles had ever seen. His jaw was sharp and his skin was tanned by the sun and his dark eyes and dark hair made him seem like something out of a fairytale. He didn't realize he was gaping until the man shut the door behind him and raised an eyebrow at Isaac.

"Hey Derek, I want you to meet someone." Isaac gestured to him and Stiles stood and offered his hand.

"Hi! I... uh I'm Stiles." Derek Hale quirked an eyebrow at him too and Stiles felt the need to explain. "It's not my real name but no one can say my actual name so.." Derek considered and then took his hand with a firm shake that was surprisingly tingly.

"Derek." Isaac coughed and they both turned to him.

"Tell him what you told me, Stiles."

"I.. want to change Kit to homemade dog food for a while. I think she's allergic to the plastic lining inside the dog food bag." Derek and Isaac had a short conversation through eye contact and Derek turned back to him.

"Alright, Isaac and I will both sign off on it immediately. While the paperwork is printing, though, humor me. Why are you paying so much attention to Kit when it says here you're working with rabbits?" Stiles shrugged and suddenly felt like he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

"I'm an intern so I get the crappy jobs. I wash Kit pretty much every morning because no one else wants to and she keeps me company on my lunch break. I thought… she seemed unhappy." Derek nodded.

"Stiles, is it?" He nodded.

"Yeah, Stiles Stilinski."

"Well, Stiles Stilinski, would you consider a full time paid position here?" Stiles froze.

"Ohmygod what! Yes of course I would this place is my dream job I've always wanted to-" He cut himself off, seeing the surprise on their faces. "I mean, yes. That would be amazing." Derek just nodded but Stiles saw Isaac flash a little smirk at the older man, which Derek ignored.

"Well, depending on how Kit does, that could be on the table. Good to know you're interested."

At first Kit wouldn't eat the food and every meal she refused just earned Stiles more and more glares from other employees and volunteers. He sat with her at lunch and begged her to eat it.

"Please kit it will make you feel better. I really want to be able to stay here with you and the others. Please girl?" But she wouldn't. It was the fourth day of her not eating and they were going to switch her back the next day to keep her from starving, so Stiles tried one last time and sat with her for hours, completely having forgotten the security camera in the room. She laid on her bed and looked sad and laid with him but wouldn't eat it. So Stiles finally gave up and left, upset that he was going to lose this place.

But he got there early the next morning, before the other volunteers, and went straight to check on her and lo and behold the food was gone. She greeted him at the door happy and bouncing. He brought out her breakfast and as soon as he put it in the bowl, she devoured it. He couldn't believe it. She looked so happy he wanted to cry. He hugged her and he couldn't stop smiling and they played soccer around the room (she was isolated in case she was sick).

Derek watched the whole thing on the cameras. Lydia walked in with a clipboard in hand and noticed the small smile on his face.

"Good news? Is it Duchess's litter?" Derek shook his head. still smiling.

"Kit. He did it." Lydia pursed her lips and nodded in the way Derek knew meant she was impressed. He showed her the screen where Stiles was sitting on the floor playing ball with Kit and he was just so happy that she was happy and Derek had to smile.

"She's eaten two meals and is doing great." Lydia nodded.

"I'm glad to see it. We should bring him back next summer with a paid internship." Derek shook his head.

"No, hire him. Right now. Full time, full pay." Lydia balked.

"Derek, you hardly know him. He made a lucky guess with Kit but that doesn't mean he's right for this place." Derek shook his head.

"He's intuitive and he has a connection with the animals. He loves them. I'm offering him a job." Lydia shrugged.

"Your call, boss." Derek rolled his eyes.

"Would you get the contract ready today? I'll talk to him after dinner rounds tonight." Lydia nodded but it was with a smile.

"You like him…"

"That will be all, Lydia." She smiled bigger and nodded, excusing herself but it was with an air that said she was right and she knew it.

That day, Stiles couldn't be brought down by anything. There were two extra stalls to shovel but he didn't care. One of the baby bunnies peed on him but he didn't care. Pepper, an older and bitter rabbit, bit him again but he just slapped a bandage and some peroxide on it and kept smiling. Because Kit was better. At lunch, he sat with her again and they played ball and she ate her entire meal and she was just so.. alive. He loved it. Finally, she was acting like the three year old she was instead of a thirteen year old.

He was an intern still and basically just an extra set of hands to boss around so after lunch he got sent to the kennels and put on walking duty. He and two other interns took rounds of dogs six to eight per person down the mile long dirt road to the pond. Normally, a pond would have been a habitat for frogs or small fish but this pond was a retention pond so not only was it void of living things but it wasn't very deep and it was fenced in. They expanded the fence to include a small field and, one by one, they turned the dogs loose into the area to splash around and run. That took up most of his afternoon, just rotating dogs to the pond and back and rinsing off the ones that got muddy, but there was still enough time left in the work day that his manager sent him on another errand.

A puppy, the runt of the litter, born two weeks ago and still tiny as ever, wasn't doing so good. He got sent to the vet and he wasn't sure, exactly, what he was supposed to do but, when he got there, one of the vet's assistants had him sign for the puppy and handed him a little box. Inside was the tiniest, sweetest, whimpering little pup he'd ever seen wrapped in a few towels and on top of a hot water bottle.

"This one goes directly to Mr. Hale, got it?" He nodded and carried the little box the hundred yards to the Hale house and knocked. Someone answered the door and then bustled away, leaving Stiles to wander up the stairs and just read the names on the doors. He found Isaac's office and peaked inside to see isaac on the floor eating chips and typing frantically on his laptop.

"Hey what's up Stiles who you got there?"

"A puppy to Mr. Hale's hands only." Isaac's face tightened and he jerked his thumb down the hall.

"Last door on the right." Stiles hurried out and closed the door behind him, rushing towards the end of the hall as the little puppy in the box grew quieter. He knocked twice before hearing:

"Come in." When he stepped into the office, it wasn't what he expected. It was mostly empty aside from a medium sized desk with a laptop on it, a chair, and a cat tree in the corner. Derek looked up at him from the girl he was talking with and they were both obviously upset. Suddenly, Stiles felt incredibly awkward and he started to leave but puppy in the box mewed and Derek's attention was instantly focused on that.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt but the vet said…"

"Is that the puppy?" Stiles nodded and Derek turned to the woman with him with a slight glare. "As you can see, I have business to attend to. We can discuss this later." The woman snorted.

"Right, later. Maybe by then you'll have come to your senses." With that, she excused herself and closed the door to the office a little too loudly. Derek motioned with a sigh for him to come closer and Stiles approached carefully, trying not to seem skittish even though that was exactly what he felt. He handed over the box and Derek picked up the puppy in his hand-it was so small one hand was all he needed-and unwrapped the towels to expose its bare belly. He set it on his chest, against his shirt, and tucked the towels around it. Instantly, the puppy went quiet. With one hand, he held the puppy to his chest like a baby and with the other he closed a few windows on his laptop before motioning for Stiles to sit.

"Thank you for bringing him to me, Stiles. I was going to find you after dinner rounds-I've noticed you have a habit of staying late-but I suppose this is as good a time as any. How's Kit?" Stiles swallowed but a bit of his anxiety faded when he knew the subject was something positive.

"She's doing really good," he answered with a smile. "She hasn't missed a meal today and had eaten all her food. We've played ball and honestly it's like she was born again." Derek nodded and he didn't smile but Stiles could have sworn that maybe, just maybe, he saw that solemn expression lighten a bit.

"That's good to hear. Thank you, again, for everything you've invested in her. How did you know she was allergic to the plastic?" Stiles shrugged.

"I didn't. The vet tested for everything in the food, they said, and she would drink water out of the same bowl without a problem so I tried to find the missing link. I just got lucky."

"I mean, how did you know it was something she was allergic to? Not anxiety or worms or intestinal problems?"

"Well, the vets cleared her multiple times so I doubted it was an illness or anything like that. But as for the allergy… I don't know. It was just a gut feeling." Derek nodded at that, stroking the head of the little puppy on his chest with one finger. His size dwarfed the puppy and made it seem that much tinier and more fragile.

"I'm impressed. And you trusted your instincts, I like that. You expressed interest in working here full time?" Stiles nodded quickly.

"Yes, I mean that's what I've always wanted to do and the chance would be-"

"You don't have to justify yourself to me, Stiles." He nodded, and quickly shut up. "I don't know if Lydia has finished writing the contract but I'm prepared to offer you a full time paid position here if you'd like it. As to what kind of position and in what area, we can figure that out, but it sounds like you're strongly considering it?" Stiles nodded.

"Great. Then, if you don't mind, we can do an interview right now if you'd like." Whoa wait what. Stiles started to panic because he was so not prepared for an interview especially not if it was going to make him look stupid in front of Derek.

"Relax, Stiles, it's not hard. Think of it as a conversation more than an interview. I've already offered you the job, this is just a way to find out where you'd fit best at the sanctuary." Stiles tried to make himself nod. "Do you have an area you would prefer to work in? Dogs, cats, so on?" Stiles took a deep breath.

"Actually, I really want to work in rehab." Derek looked up at him with something between a frown and a smile. A humorous frown.

"You definitely have not gone to veterinary school. Rehabilitation is one of the most intense areas and the animals there are already at such a high risk that we don't like to put anyone new or without vet training there." Stiles tried not to be disappointed. "However, it is possible that we could work out a way to get you there. In the meantime, do you have a preference? I assume you'd like a job other than shoveling manure or spraying out kennels." Stiles snickered but shut up quickly because he couldn't tell if he was supposed to laugh at that.

"Uh, yeah. I mean I can do anything I just want to be here with the animals but if I got to choose, maybe I could work with the dogs? I know that's probably everyone's first pick but there's so many and right now it's like fifty dogs to a worker and they don't get the attention they deserve so…" Derek nodded.

"That can be arranged. However, you're only one person. You think you can give all of the dogs the attention they need?" There was a bit of an attitude there that made Stiles backpedal and realize he was practically telling this man how to run his own place but he couldn't help it.

"No, but something is better than nothing. And I thought maybe we could find a way to connect to a local school or church and get them socialized that way? Just an idea. It would increase exposure for adoptees to." Derek nodded, pursing his lips into a thinking face that was actually kind of adorable.

"I'll have Isaac look into it. Any other critiques?" Stiles swore at himself internally.

"No, sorry Mr. Hale I never-"

"Stiles, I'm kidding." There was a small hint of a smile on his lips that Stiles was so surprised at he almost laughed. Derek Hale was joking with him? It seemed insane.

"Hey Derek?" Derek hummed to show he was listening. "Why did the vet send that puppy to you?" Derek smiled and stroked the little head resting on his chest, rising and falling with his every breath.

"I have a certain… connection with dogs in particular. This little one, for example, is tired and struggling and the first days of his life have been filled with pain and neglect. His mom rejected him, thinking he was sick or wounded. He hasn't walked since he was born and doesn't get any milk because of it. The vet doesn't know what to do other than bottle feed him and keep him warm. But he'll be okay, right bud?" Stiles couldn't help but smile when Derek looked down and asked the puppy to agree with him.

"It's possible he suffers from some degree of paralysis but the neglect is what has really hurt him. If I hold him like this, he's warm and he can feel my heartbeat and the touch and if he knows he's loved, that he's safe and cared for, he can start to heal. Once he's stable, we can figure out what's going on with him. But, until then, he just needs love." Stiles nodded, looking at the tiny little life snuggled into Derek's chest with something like admiration.

"You're a pretty nice guy, Derek," Derek looked up at him in surprise. "You shouldn't try to scare people off with that big tough guy attitude." With one eyebrow raised, Derek's expression clearly said Stiles was walking a fine line because, after all, Derek was his boss not his friend but the little puppy whined, making them both smile, and wiggled to resituate on Derek's chest.

"I would, but it doesn't scare the animals. And really, people are much worse." Stiles smiled

"Thank you again, Derek, for this opportunity. This is my dream job." Derek nodded with a tiny upturn at the corner of his mouth and gestured to the door.

"Dinner rounds start soon and I'm sure Raymond would just die without your help. Have a good night, Stiles. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Derek."

The next morning Stiles slept in because he'd gotten up so early the day before to check on Kit so he got to the sanctuary after all the other usual employees and had to park in the very back of the lot. Dammit. The parking lot was on the very edge of the property and across the street was a shady little outlet collection with no streetlights that Stiles didn't like going near after dark or by himself. He figured he would just leave with the crowd tonight and not worry about it.

He got right into his morning rounds and spent the rest of the morning as an extra hand making posters. Their big spring adoption weekend was in less than three weeks and they were all rushing to prepare for it. He spent lunch with Kit, as usual, and helped dose out flea medicine to some of the cats before doing dinner rounds. He planned to leave right after with the majority of the other workers but the woman Derek had been arguing with appeared beside him as he was washing up and stopped him.

"Derek wants to see you." He nodded and followed her but halfway to the house he couldn't help it he just wanted to be nosey.

"You and Derek don't get along?" He pried. She squinted at him in annoyance but didn't walk faster or brush him off.

"We argue, like most siblings." Wait what?!

"Siblings?" Stiles had sort of had the assumption that the woman was a girlfriend or an exe of some kind or at the very least an unpleasant business partner but a sibling?

"Yeah, Derek is my older brother. My name is Cora, by the way." She stuck out her hand and Stiles shook it but he was still reeling from the work brother. "Nice to meet you, Stiles, I've heard a lot about you. Isaac in particular just raves about the work you've done with Kit and I hope you're as amusing in person as he says you are. I get the feeling we'll be seeing a lot of each other." Stiles wasn't really sure what to say to that so he didn't say anything. She left him inside the house and motioned vaguely towards the stairs assuming he already knew where to go. He did know, actually, but that didn't make it easier. He knocked on the door and was quickly greeted.

"Come in." The tone was warmer than usual. Inside, Derek was sitting in his chair, per usual, with the puppy on his chest and Stiles took the seat across from him without being told.

"You wanted to see me?" Derek smiled in welcome.

"Yeah, I need your help. This little guy needs a name." Stiles thought for a second.

"Mike." Derek looked between him and the little pug puppy in his shirt pocket and back again a few times before simply raising his eyebrow. He did that a lot, actually.

"Mike Wazowski, you know, like from Monsters Inc? Mike for short." Derek suddenly laughed, shaking the poor little puppy on his chest, and Stiles couldn't believe it. He'd made Derek laugh.

"Mike it is." Isaac chose that exact moment to come barging through the door backwards with a heaping bowl of pasta and two plates.

"Hey, Der, I brought-oh, hey Stiles! Sorry to interrupt. You want some pasta?" Stiles started to say no but Derek jumped in.

"Please, it's the least we can do. You helped solve our dilemma." At that, Isaac brightened.

"You guys picked a name? Is it Chester? Did he like Chester?" Derek laughed again, softer this time, and shaked his head.

"I didn't tell him our names so no, it's not Chester. Isaac and I couldn't agree on a name so we decided to make it third party. He wanted Chester, I was voting Frank like from-"

"Men in Black." Derek smiled, surprised he knew the reference.

"So…?" Isaac interrupted, serving up pasta onto the two plates. "What's Chester's new name?"

"Mike." Isaac's face scrunched up into a pout.

"Mike Wazowski," Stiles quickly added. "Mike for short." That got Isaac to smile.

"Perfect." Isaac brought another plate and soon Lydia joined them and they ate the pasta on the floor of Derek's office with Mike watching them. By the time the pasta was gone and the conversation was dying down, Stiles looked to the window to see nothing but pitch black. Fuck. He'd forgotten about the parking situation.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" Derek suddenly managed to pivot all the of attention in the room onto him.

"Oh, no, it's nothing. I just remembered that I parked on the far side of the lot." Derek only looked more confused until Isaac piped up.

"It's by the corner store and it gets sketchy after dark." That seemed to explain it but Lydia suddenly smirked.

"I'm sure Derek wouldn't mind walking you to your car, Stiles. Would you, Der?" The two glared at each other for a second before Derek relented.

"Of course not. We can go whenever you want." With that reassurance, Stiles stayed later and ended up playing a brutal game of BS that Cora later joined. They all seemed to have known each other for years, like they grew up together, which made sense for Derek and Cora but Stiles was still kind of jealous. Even so, though, they seemed to welcome him right into the group as if he'd been there with them the whole time and he appreciated that. He appreciated them.

It was after midnight when he finally got up to leave and Derek followed him without a word, grabbing two flashlights and a coat on the way out. Stiles pulled on his sweatshirt and they all hugged him goodbye and promised to do it again, Cora assuring him he was welcome for dinner every night, and then they were off. As soon as Derek closed the door, though, they were plunged into their own little world. The sudden silence and darkness was jarring and Stiles stepped closer to Derek without realizing. They started the trek through the now empty parking lot to where Stiles' jeep was clearly outlined at the very farthest possible point. In the silence, with nothing but the sound of their feet on the gravel and Mike's occasional yips, Stiles couldn't help but smile. He hadn't felt this at home since he'd lost his dad.

"What are you so smiley about, kid?" Stiles jumped at the sudden voice but tried to hide it. The grating voice made him swear under his breath and Derek tensed beside him, just out of view of the man on the other side of the fence.

"You picked a bad time to be out here alone." Stiles swallowed hard, feeling his heart start to race, but he tried his hardest not to let it show. "Who's your friend, pretty boy?" Stiles had almost forgotten that he wasn't alone. The sudden power and strength radiating off of Derek was terrifying and addictive. Derek turned to look at the man, his eyes actually glowing red with anger-Stiles didn't even have time to freak out about that though honestly what the hell-and the man went silent.

"You aren't harassing one of my employees, are you?" The man started to lift his hands to wave off the accusation but Derek growled, low and deep in his throat. Stiles made a mental note of what the actual fuck for later.

"I suggest you get off my property."

"Why, you gonna call the cops?" Derek sneered.

"The police are the least of your worries if you piss me off. Shoo." The man hmphed but sauntered across the street and disappeared into one of the shops, leaving them alone again.

"Sorry about that, I had no idea it was like this." Stiles shrugged as they reached his car. All he could manage was:

"What the actual fuck?" Derek sighed.

"You're right, I owe you an explanation. But not here, and not right now, okay? I promise I will explain and you more than deserve an explanation but this is too public and I've already kept you so late." Stiles nodded, he couldn't really process enough to do anything else.

"Lemme say bye to Mike." As had become their routine, Stiles stepped up and gently pet the little head poking out of Derek's shirt pocket. "Night, night little guy." He kissed Mike on the head with a smile but when he looked up he suddenly realized he forgotten to take a step back. Looking up, less than an inch from Derek, he was face to face with the man and so close he could feel his breath on his skin.

Derek stared back into his eyes. It was so intense Stiles was actually, for the first time in his life, speechless. He wasn't sure why but he had the sudden urge to lean up and kiss the man. Who was he kidding? He knew exactly why. Derek was gorgeous and powerful and Derek was his fucking boss and… Derek was his boss. No matter how much he wanted to he couldn't kiss him. Nothing-not even that-was worth risking his job at the sanctuary. So he stayed completely still, standing exactly where he is, because he couldn't force himself to back up but he couldn't let himself move forward. To his surprise, though, he didn't have to do either. Derek closed the distance between them and cupped his cheek, pulling him into the kiss. Stiles was in absolute heaven. The sensation of Derek's lips against his was better than he ever could have imagined-not that he'd imagined it a lot.

"Good night, Stiles." Stiles didn't even know what to do he just got in his car and started it but Derek was smiling and he drove maybe three feet, trying to get far enough that he could freak out, before Derek tapped on his window

"Hey Stiles? You might want to take your parking break off." Derek laughed when Stiles turned bright red and he took the brake off and drove away with a little wave and a quiet thanks and screamed in his car as soon as he was out of sight.

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Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know if I should post more?


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